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Post by bballnut90 on Nov 22, 2015 18:59:05 GMT -5
I'd vote Wisconsin. They seem to be peaking at the right time and if their outsides are on, they're rock solid at every position and play outstanding defense. Washington is my 2nd pick, but I think the Badgers win in a head to head match up. The one team that I think has a big advantage over Wisconsin is Penn State, and that's solely because Penn State has simply owned the Badgers the last 2-3 years. Penn State is a good dark horse pick this year, if Frantti reverts to her freshman form and Pierce does a solid job at libero, Penn State could easily win their 3rd straight title.
USC has been great this year but the only top 10 teams they've played this year are Washington (where they were crushed and squeaked out a 4 game win while Schwann was injured) and Stanford who wasn't playing great volleyball, and they needed 5 games and a 15-13 finish. I'm interested to see how they'll fare against teams like Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State, Texas, Hawaii, etc. Realistically they'll need to win 3 games in a row against top level competition, and I think they can win 1 or 2 but will be surprised if they win 3 against that crop of talent.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 19:14:55 GMT -5
I never get tired of watching great teams who play excellent volleyball. Hopefully it's my favorite team who makes it to the Final 4. Their Vegas odds increased as of last night and with a few more positive results ...... Were you being serious about Vegas odds? If so, what's the website where I can find them?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 19:19:06 GMT -5
I'll go with Wisconsin, beating Washington in the finals. (I probably just like UW-UW.) The Badgerettes seem to be peaking at the right time. The casualties will be the teams that lack ball control like Florida and Texas and SC because of their reliance on Bricio (and mostly because I just don't like SC. Kudos to the Ducks for whopping them in football yesterday!) Is USC's reliance on Bricio a weakness? It has worked so far. You could put Bricio on almost any team in the country and she would be their go-to hitter, and they'd rely heavily on her. I don't think that's a vulnerability. Not sure I agree with that. Look at MN who relies heavily on Santana. She has an off night and they get beat in 5, and really MN should have gotten swept. Also, look at WA 2 years ago. They relied heavily on Vansant and they got swept at home in the semi-finals. I prefer a well balanced attack. WA is much better at that this year. Not that USC is a slouch, but I have a feeling that Bricio will have an off night in the tourney and run into a buzzsaw.
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Post by gmanoc on Nov 22, 2015 19:28:27 GMT -5
I guess we will find out if Bricio can carry this USC team in her back .So far no team has been able to stop her. It's not just her hitting that dictates the match, but also her serving.
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Post by badgerbreath on Nov 22, 2015 19:29:13 GMT -5
Well, the reason Minn lost was that their defense and serving was not tough enough. They would normally have won with the amount of offense they generated. Santana actually had decent numbers.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 19:30:07 GMT -5
Penn State is a good dark horse pick this year
Yeah, that's funny. I wonder how many people are saying that.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 19:34:49 GMT -5
Well, the reason Minn lost was that their defense and serving was not tough enough. They would normally have won with the amount of offense they generated. Santana actually had decent numbers. MN's stats are good but not great. They do not have enough offensive production to boost confidence in getting a NC win, probably will make a final four appearance, but I wouldn't bet the farm (well maybe Stanford's farm).
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2015 19:36:38 GMT -5
I guess we will find out if Bricio can carry this USC team in her back .So far no team has been able to stop her. It's not just her hitting that dictates the match, but also her serving. Very true, she's a dual threat. However, one off night and the USC dream can come tumbling down. I would like to see USC in the final, but I'd be concerned about her teammates being able to carry some of the load too. I guess we'll see.
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Post by akbar on Nov 22, 2015 19:41:30 GMT -5
Well, the reason Minn lost was that their defense and serving was not tough enough. They would normally have won with the amount of offense they generated. Santana actually had decent numbers. Where was Wilhite?
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Post by hammer on Nov 22, 2015 19:59:58 GMT -5
If Hawaii is leading the poll then this must be highly scientific. It would be better if you couldn't vote for the team you pull for ... but only the monitors could monitor that, and why would they.
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Post by badgerbreath on Nov 22, 2015 20:15:10 GMT -5
Well, the reason Minn lost was that their defense and serving was not tough enough. They would normally have won with the amount of offense they generated. Santana actually had decent numbers. Where was Wilhite? She didn't do well. But Wilhite hasn't been a big contributor most of the year, and yet they've been winning with a pretty good offense, but a truly great defense and transition game. I have always thought that if Wilhite becomes a consistent offensive force, Minn becomes a clear NC favorite. It makes them very very hard to defend, and when their defense is on that would make them almost impossible to beat. Wilhite just hasn't been that consistent a force.
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Post by scottysocc on Nov 22, 2015 21:00:41 GMT -5
I guess we will find out if Bricio can carry this USC team in her back .So far no team has been able to stop her. It's not just her hitting that dictates the match, but also her serving. Very true, she's a dual threat. However, one off night and the USC dream can come tumbling down. I would like to see USC in the final, but I'd be concerned about her teammates being able to carry some of the load too. I guess we'll see. Has Bricio had an off night at all this year though? I feel her performance in every match this year has ranged from great to dominating. Even her worst games of the year she's still been solid.
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Post by gnu2vball on Nov 22, 2015 22:08:14 GMT -5
Very true, she's a dual threat. However, one off night and the USC dream can come tumbling down. I would like to see USC in the final, but I'd be concerned about her teammates being able to carry some of the load too. I guess we'll see. Has Bricio had an off night at all this year though? I feel her performance in every match this year has ranged from great to dominating. Even her worst games of the year she's still been solid. Perhaps the only thing keeping her from POY would be a USC failure to make the Final Four?
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Post by Longhorn20 on Nov 22, 2015 22:12:51 GMT -5
Has Bricio had an off night at all this year though? I feel her performance in every match this year has ranged from great to dominating. Even her worst games of the year she's still been solid. Perhaps the only thing keeping her from POY would be a USC failure to make the Final Four? Deja *Alix Klineman* Vu?
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Post by gmanoc on Nov 22, 2015 22:23:15 GMT -5
I think POY is her's to lose. USC just needs to get to the elite 8. I don't see anyone that can come close to her this year. She brings her A game every single match
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